MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Demands for U.S. support are amplifying as more than 30,000 people have fled Haiti as the turmoil and unrest consumes the country.
Sara Heimcke and her family are one of 30,000 citizens who have flown out of the country. Her 12-year-old son, Joseph, was forced to face terrifying sounds every night.
“I always hear gunshots,” said Joseph.
“Are you excited to be here? Do you feel relieved?” asked 7News’ Reporter Michael Hudak.
“Yes. Yes,” said Joseph.
7News Michael Hudak asked Sara how would she describe her life, she feels torn.
“Ha… describe my life? Psh. I don’t know,” said Sara. “There’s nothing to say. There’s nothing particular to say except that we’re kind of torn apart.”
The latest round of evacuees landed in Miami International Airport Monday afternoon using commercial flights through Sunrise Airlines, which is a Haitian airline that announced new direct flights from the country’s second-largest city Cap Haitien.
The flights come as more armed gangs continue to terrorize the population and attack police stations, and other government facilities in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where they have also seized control of the airport.
“Thank God that we can make it for today,” said an evacuee who flew from Haiti to Miami.
“We really want a better situation for the young kids, and give them a chance to dream because a lot of kids want to go back to school, and they can’t go back to school,” said an evacuee who flew from Haiti to Miami.
Dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands have been left homeless since the gang attacks began on Feb. 29th. The gangs also stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons and released more than 4,000 inmates.
Earlier in the week, a U.S. government-chartered flight evacuated more than 80 U.S. citizens from Haiti and brought them to Miami International Airport. People who arrived in Miami on Monday are calling for the U.S. to intervene.
“We are left aside,” said Carline Allen, who flew from Haiti to Miami. “We are left behind. And we see the way that the Americans, they handle other issues.”
Allen tells 7News that sending American troops might not be the answer but says American intervention is the only solution.
The average cost for a one-way direct flight from Haiti to the United States is currently around $1,000.
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